Amazon will support Apple's stance against unlocking the iPhone for FBI

Amazon.com Inc said on Thursday it will support Apple Inc’s fight against a magistrate’s order, which requires it to help the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation break into a San Bernardino shooter’s iPhone, reports Reuters . An Amazon spokesman said the company was still working on its “amicus options.” Amazon is only the latest supporter in a long list that includes Google, Facebook, Microsoft and Twitter. Apple’s resistance to the FBI’s demands for what is, in effect, a backdoor to any iPhone in the world has been seen by many as the right thing to do. They claim that under the guise of unlocking one killer’s iPhone, however justified that might be, the FBI’s demands for Apple to provide them with a back door is unconstitutional and unethical. The support for Apple stems primarily from a deep distrust of the US government’s oversight capabilities. Also at stake is the undermining of the security framework that protects the privacy of millions of smartphone users worldwide. Despite the FBI’s claims that this request for unlocking the San Bernadino shooter’s iPhone is a one-off case, reports have surfaced that there at least another dozen phones that the FBI wants unlocked. The FBI has been trying to force Apple’s hand by citing a law from the early 1800s. Julian Sanchez, a surveillance law expert at the libertarian-leaning Cato Institute in Washington told the Guardian , “The fundamental question here isn’t whether the FBI gets access to this particular phone, it’s whether a catch-all law from 1789 can be used to effectively conscript technology companies into producing hacking tools and spyware for the government.” With the security and privacy of millions of users the world over at stake, it’s no wonder that Apple’s stance against the FBI is garnering support from major corporations and concerned citizens . With inputs from Reuters